Friday, March 29, 2013

"The Legend of Wooley Swamp" by The Charlie Daniels Band

Pop Bits: The second single from Daniels' platinum album "Full Moon" tells a story of greed, robbery, and retribution from the grave. A good story song like "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" or "Ode to Billie Joe" seemed to be more welcome on the chart early on, but they dwindled throughout the 80s. This is one of the few to get some chart action. And although Daniels had more overall success in the country market, this song only made it as far as #80 on the country singles chart.

ReduxReview: I do not count myself as a fan of Charlie Daniels, especially after his slightly scary previous hit "In America." But I can be a sucker for a story song if well done and I'd have to admit that this one is good, even though I wouldn't necessarily hit the replay button often. It starts off like a Southern rock jam, but when the story kicks in the song turns dark and mysterious. I'm still not a fan, but I'll always give props to a good song regardless of the artist.

ReduxRating: 5/10

Trivia: Daniels has kind of been on Broadway. Although he didn't appear in the production, Daniels voice was used in certain passages of the epic 1999 musical "The Civil War." Even though the show was nominated for a Tony for Best Musical, it was considered a major flop at the time and only ran for 61 performances.